Trump is out to end the Fed’s autonomy. Here’s how he’s trying to get his way

When Donald Trump stepped up his campaign to influence the US Federal Reserve, he traveled less than a mile from the White House, to tour the central bank’s headquarters. But as the administration considers how to actually get what it wants, one of the US president’s acolytes looked about 500 miles south.A condominium above the Four Seasons hotel in Atlanta, Georgia, is at the heart of an extraordinary battle over the future of the Fed, and the independence of its power of the world’s largest economy.For a generation, presidents have respected the Fed’s autonomy. They might disagree with its decisions

Debenhams may sell Pretty Little Thing and shut distribution hub

The online fashion seller Debenhams, formerly known as Boohoo, is considering the sale of its Pretty Little Thing (PLT) brand and the closure of its distribution centre in Burnley, which could lead to the loss of 1,251 jobs.The company said it was “exploring a range of long-term options”, understood to include closure for the Burnley site and the sale of an already closed warehouse in the US amid falling sales and widening losses.The potential sale of Pretty Little Thing comes five years after Boohoo bought out a minority stake for more than £260m from Umar Kamani, the son of Boohoo’s executive chair and co-founder Mahmud Kamani, and business partner Paul Papworth.In delayed annual results, Debenhams said pretax losses had widened to £264m in the year to 28 February, from £164m a year earlier. One-off costs, including a writedown on its US warehouse and restructuring costs, amounted to £199m

Who is Lisa Cook, the Fed governor facing removal by Trump?

Lisa Cook, the first Black woman to sit on the Federal Reserve’s board of governors, is now facing removal by Donald Trump, another obstacle in a long line she has faced and written about during her experiences as one of a small number of Black women in the field of economics.Cook was nominated to the Fed in 2022 by then president Joe Biden after building a career that spanned both government and academia, including work at the treasury department, service in the White House, and a long record of scholarly contributions.But her path to confirmation wasn’t without hostility. Republicans opposed her nomination, forcing Vice-President Kamala Harris to break a 50–50 Senate deadlock. That narrow vote made Cook the first, and so far the only, Black woman to serve as a Fed governor

More pain for Reeves as government borrowing cost nears 27-year high

The cost of UK government borrowing has jumped to near a 27-year high, piling pressure on Rachel Reeves to reveal how she will tackle the deficit in the public finances before the autumn budget.The yield, or interest rate, on the UK’s 30-year bond rose by eight basis points (0.08 of a percentage point) on Tuesday to 5.62%.That pushed the UK’s long-term borrowing costs close to a spike in April of 5

M&S brings Australia’s national treat the lamington to UK high street

It has been a fixture of bake sales and cafes in Australia for more than a century. Now the lamington is making its debut on the British high street as Marks & Spencer launches its own version.The chain will stock two varieties: a “classic” chocolate and coconut lamington and a caramelised biscuit version, which went viral on social media after being launched by Woolworths in Australia last month. Both will be baked in the UK and sold in packs of two for £4.The lamington is traditionally a square piece of sponge dipped in chocolate icing and rolled in desiccated coconut

Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook to sue Trump administration over its attempt to fire her

The Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook will sue the Trump administration over its bid to fire her over unconfirmed allegations of mortgage fraud, her attorney has said.Donald Trump announced he was firing Cook on Monday night, in an extraordinary move that marks the latest escalation in the US president’s attack on the central bank’s independence.But Trump has “no authority” to remove her from the Fed’s board of governors, Cook’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, argued in a statement to reporters, saying: “His attempt to fire her, based solely on a referral letter, lacks any factual or legal basis. We will be filing a lawsuit challenging this illegal action.”In the meantime, she plans to stay put on the Fed’s powerful board of governors – and rate-setting policy committee